DOJ Turns Over 20,000 Records in Gallagher Corruption Case

WHITE PLAINS, NY — John Gallagher, the former Facilities Director for the City School District of New Rochelle, was back in White Plains Federal Court Thursday for a status conference to update Judge Kenneth M. Karas on what has taken place since Gallagher was last in court of May 24th.

Gallagher is charged with bribery and faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Susanne Brody, a Federal Public Defender assigned to Gallagher, told Judge Karas that she had received 20,000 records in response to her discovery request. She asked for additional time to review what described as the “voluminous” response from the Department of Justice.

Brody told Judge Karas that she had not yet decide whether to file motions in the case but would know that by October 6th. Karas set October 20th as a date for any motions, If Brody decides she does not wish to file motions by October 6th then October 20th would serve as a status conference date.

The motion schedule is for motions to be filed by October 20th, response by the Department of Justice would be due on November 17th and the Defense response to the DOJ response would be due on December 1st.

At the time of his arrest, the DOJ issued a statement describing the basis for the allegations against him and Mauro Zonzini, an outside contractor who worked for the District.

From in or about 2009 through in or about 2013, GALLAGHER engaged in a corrupt, criminal scheme, in which he solicited, demanded, and accepted bribes in the form of cash payments, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with the School District’s business and transactions with the Company. The bribe payments that GALLAGHER solicited, demanded, and accepted were paid by ZONZINI. Routinely, after the School District paid the Company for work performed, GALLAGHER met in person with ZONZINI in a parking lot, where ZONZINI provided GALLAGHER with a kickback in the amount of ten percent of the payment the Company had received from the School District. In this way, GALLAGHER received dozens of cash bribe payments from ZONZINI, over the course of at least approximately four years, which together amounted to more than $150,000. GALLAGHER solicited, demanded, and accepted the bribe payments intending to be influenced in and rewarded for the School District’s decisions to award the Company contracts for masonry work, to assign masonry projects to the Company, and to make timely payment to the Company.

The case against Gallagher is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Martin and Benjamin Allee.